Quick Links

Leadership transition in the Department of Biomedical Engineering

06/04/15 Portland, Ore.

Dr. Joe Gray to assume vice-chair role in Department of Biomedical Engineering; Dr. Owen McCarty is appointed interim chair.

Joe Gray, Ph. D., will step down as chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering in the OHSU School of Medicine and will assume the role of the department’s vice chair. Dean Mark Richardson has appointed Owen McCarty, Ph.D., who is currently department vice chair, as interim. This leadership transition is effective July 1, 2015.

“Since joining OHSU, Dr. Gray has been a dynamic and highly-effective leader not only within the Department of Biomedical Engineering but across the institution,” said Dean Richardson. “I appreciate all that he’s accomplished during his chair tenure and look forward to his continued vital scientific leadership.”

Dr. Gray joined OHSU in 2011 and assumed the department chair position at that time. Dr. Gray is stepping down from the chair position in order to focus on his scientific programs, with emphasis on expanding existing and future collaborations, guiding the next phase of development for the OHSU Center for Spatial Systems Biomedicine and overseeing development and deployment of advanced measurement, computational and analytic approaches that enable integrative, biophysical study of cancer for the Knight Cancer Institute.

As vice chair, he’ll continue to provide leadership and guidance to the department. Dr. Gray will remain the Gordon Moore professor and chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the OCSSB director and will remain in his leadership role for the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute. Read more about Dr. Gray.

Dr. McCarty has played a leadership role in the department since Feb. 1, 2014, when he was appointed vice chair. Dr. McCarty joined the OHSU faculty in 2005 and has additional faculty appointments in the Department of Cell, Developmental and Cancer Biology and the Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Medical Oncology. Read more about Dr. McCarty.

“As vice chair, Dr. McCarty has demonstrated a skilled leadership approach,” said Dean Richardson. “I am grateful to Dr. McCarty for stepping into this leadership position and ensuring a smooth transition.”

“I’m honored to assume the chair role and look forward to working with Joe, our faculty and all our department members in advancing the department’s mission,” said Dr. McCarty.

The Department of Biomedical Engineering has 19 primary and 13 research faculty members. It is home to the OHSU Center for Spatial Systems Biomedicine. Last year, the center underwent an internal and external review. Read the article (OHSU internal login required). The department maintains strong educational programs with 22 graduate students and 17 postdoctoral researchers. Under Dr. Gray’s leadership, the department’s faculty members have achieved a national reputation for excellence in multidisciplinary and multiscale research and advanced technical solutions while developing high-profile, strategic collaborations with industry partners such as Intel and FEI to advance common goals in biomedicine.

“As a department, we’ve worked collectively to advance our research and educational missions and create a strong and productive department,” said Dr. Gray. “Now is an excellent time for me to step aside and turn the chair role over to the next generation of leaders in biomedical engineering.”